The Origins & Meanings Of The Term Of Endearment "Boo"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the English language term of endearment "boo".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-origins-meaning-of-term-of.html for the closely related pancocojams post on the English language term of endearment "boo kee" (also written "bukie" and "bookie" and pronounced to rhyme with the words "you" + key")  will be published ASAP and its link will be added here.

The content of this post is presented for etymological and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO"
The English language word "boo" rhymes with the English words "too", "you", who", "knew", "Lou" etc. It is pronounce the same as the word "Boo!" that is used to scare people, except that people don't shout the term of endearment.

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WHAT DOES "BOO" MEAN?
"Boo" is used as a referent for someone who you care about. However, the level of that caring may vary depending on who is using that term.  

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SELECTED EXCERPTS ABOUT THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO"

These excerpts are given in no particular order. 

DISCLAIMER:  I don't necessarily agree with all of the definitions, comments, and conclusions that are given for the origins and meanings of the term "boo".

Excerpt #1: From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Boo
"Boo

Someone you love. Someone you care about. Someone who is a life time best friend.

Someone who is always there for you. Someone who is extremely pretty. Someone who is very important in your life. Someone who can make you laugh. Someone who you can never replace.

I love Harrie, she’s my boo

by Mafaaa September 13, 2018

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Excerpt #2:  The Outline with Kevin Dwayne: The Definition of "Boo"



-snip-
Kevin Dwayne asked several people what "boo" meant to them, and agreed with the 
definition "a boyfriend or girlfriend in training" (i.e. a person you go out with who isn't your official boyfriend or girlfriend yet.)

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SOME HISTORY & EXAMPLES OF THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO"
(Including theories about how the term of enderment "Boo" is a mispronunciation of the French word "Beau")

[These excerpts are given in no particular order.]

Excerpt #1:

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/beau

"A beau is an old-fashioned term for "boyfriend." When your great-grandmother was young, she probably had a beau.

Beau means "handsome" in French. Pronounce it the same way the French do, with a long o: "boh." The word recalls more innocent times, when gentleman courted their ladies and skirts barely rose above ankle level. You'll hardly ever hear beau used today, unless you're watching a movie, play or television drama set in the past."...
-snip-
The French word "beau" basically rhymes with the English words "toe", "foe", "so", "mow", "show", "low", "bow" (as in "bow tie") etc.

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Excerpt #2: How to Pronounce Beau

pronounciationbook, Dec. 22, 2012

-snip-
These selected comments from that sound file's discussion thread demonstrates how the  French word "beau" is widely mispronounced in English.
1.  Taur44
"And all this time I've been pronouncing it "BE U" "

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2. Chaulong Alvarez, 2013
"...Beau is pronounced as "boo", not "bow"."

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3. M y t h i c a l B e a r ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ, 2016
"Thought it was "Beuw" kinda like "peeyou"

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4. . Beausmithftl, 2014
"As someone whose first name is Beau, I find it both sad and hilarious how many people not only do not know how to pronounce it, but insist on the wrong pronunciation. This video pronounces it correctly. It rhymes with "know"."

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5.  Cloudnado, 2017
"i always thought this was pronounced like the first half of beautiful"

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6. Shannen Libres, 2018
"Can I still say Bee-you? Cause it seems like a pretty common mispronunciation now and it's cute cause it's like the word beautiful"
-snip-
With regard to the way that Americans usually "beau", we also pronounce "beaucoup" (meaning a lot)  differently than the way that word is pronounced in French. (I've pronounced and an heard other Black Americans, in particular, pronouce it "boo-cou" (rhyming with "who"-Sue") and the French pronounce it "boh-cou". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncoUV0i6dkg&ab_channel=JulienMiquel ).

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Excerpt #3

[Selected comments from this discussion thread are given as "a", "b", and "c"] 

From https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/473649/boo-as-a-term-of-endearment
"Boo as a term of endearment"
a. “The Cambridge Dictionary defines boo as an AmE expression meaning:

(US informal) someone you care about, especially a boyfriend, girlfriend, or other close friend:

You will always be my boo.

Come on, boo. Let's go.

The Green’s Dictionary of Slang suggests a possible origin from black AmE with reference to the term “baby”. Its earlest citation is from 1990.

Boo

[? baby n.] (US black); a sweetheart, a loved one; a close friend.

(1990) Grand Daddy IU ‘Sugar Free’ [lyrics] Yo, boo, I like you, but I like others too.

while the Random House Unabridged Dictionary suggests that the origin of boo is:

1985–90; possibly an alteration of French beau; boyfriend, admirer.

Boo is more commonly known as an expression of surprise or disapproval and it is curious that it is used also as a term of endearment.

Does anybody know more about its origin? Does its pronunciation recall that of “baby” in black American?

Related: Meaning of the slang Boo: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/293796/meaning-of-the-slang-boo "
- edited Jul 18 '20 at 15:25
Decapitated Soul

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b. 
"In January, 1916, newspaper readers across the country were entertained by the ongoing Supreme Court case involving a millionaire heir and his mistress. His letters to her were produced in court, as excerpted in this (New York, NY) Evening World newspaper story playfully titled ‘“Boo’ful Baby” Notes of Broker Boil With Love’:

My Dearest Precious: Just received a very swet [sic] letter from my ‘Baby Doll’ — S—U—IS my boo’ful baby. I only wish you were here and I would show you how boo’ful and sweet U—IS.

Another letter entered as evidence:

I know you, love, and want me with you and I soon will be with you. You don’t know, sweetheart, how happy I feel to know you are well and still taking the emulsion. What will my ‘Ittle dirl’ do when her ‘Booful Baby tomes home? I know what he will do. Take good care of your dear little self. Your own dearest and most loving sweetheart, Jack.

Boo* in the Arts

In the first half of the twentieth century, "booful," "boo-boo," and "boo boo boo" began to appear in songs and plays. The song lyrics and scripts are lost to time, but the titles remain in catalogs as evidence.

In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1916, there is an entry for a comedic play called “My boo’ful baby”, by Jules Simonson and Jardin D. Rickman, copyrighted Mar. 7, 1916.

In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1907, there is an entry for a song called “My boo-boo baby”, words and music by Emile H. Naatz, copyrighted May 4, 1907.

In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1938, there is an entry for a song called “Listen to my boo boo boo”, words and music by Robert Lloyd Lingle, copyrighted Jan. 22, 1938.

The 1990s: "My Boo"

In 1996, the Ghost Town DJ's, a hip hop group from the Southern U.S., released a song called "My Boo." One of the group's members was Vickie Washington, nicknamed "Boo."

An Alternate Trail

The poet/playwright Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) is said to have had an inamorata whom he called by the pet name "Boo" in the 1860s. Several people over the past 150 years have tried to deduce the identity of Boo, but no one has arrived at a definitive conclusion.

Sources to track down

Mayfield, J. (1953). Swinburne’s Boo. English Miscellany, 4, 161-77.

Rooksby, R. (1993). Swinburne's 'Boo' Rides Again. The Review of English Studies, 44(173), 77-82. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/518444

Rooksby has written quite a bit about Swinburne, so this would be another avenue to explore, for a different answer.

- answered Nov 21 '18 at 6:39
shoover

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c. "Wow, so many very historic and detailed answers for something rather basic. The term “baby-boo“ is a term of endearment for a child too young to be truly verbal. A parent would coo this to the baby or toddler. The term “baby” has been used as a term of endearment between smitten lovers for just as long. Rappers such as Snoop Dogg have mixed the term to make baby-boo mean a term for your main (but not singular) love interest. Like everything in rap vernacular, eventually the term was shortened and popularized as just “boo”. Although, now, “baby” and “baby-boo“ can be taken to mean a term of true affection for the recipient of a platonic relationship of the same or opposite sex. Where as just simply “boo” denotes interest of a more romantic or sexual nature for a member of the opposite sex (as it relates to heterosexual relationships). Though, the term is not gender-binary.

edited Jul 11 '20 at 19:10
answered Jul 11 '20 at 18:50
Dean F.

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Excerpt #4
From https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/my-boo-term-of-endearment.11111/ my boo [term of endearment] 

[Pancocojams Editor: The numbers given below are the comments' numbers in that discussion thread.] 

#1. Open Mind (Leipzig, Germany; German), Jan. 15, 2005

"So, where does this expression stem from: my boo. I understand that it is used by African Americans to call their loved ones?"

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#2. Open Mind (Leipzig, Germany, German), Jan 16, 2005
"But you must know Usher or/and Alicia Keys. They recently have had a huge hit called my boo - here are the complete lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/usher/myboo.html

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#7. boonognog (Charlotte, North Carolina, English (U.S.)
"Oh, come on, people (and here I'm referring to all American English speakers)... The French influence is all over the US South. Have you never heard the expression "sweetie-pie boo"? It's not just a black thing."

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#8. GenJen 54 (Downright Pleasant, USA, US English), Jun 9, 2006
"Hi boonognog,

 There are many variances of U.S. "Southern-ese." I live in the mid-South plains/Southwest/wherever the demographer du jour wishes to plant my state.

"sweetie pie" is farily common where l live (sweetie without the pie even more common).

"boo" may or may not be common. I hear it very infrequently.

"sweetie pie boo?" I've never heard of it. Unless they find themselves implanted in mass media (such as in the aforementioned song), regionalisms such as these rarely make it to other parts of the country."

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#9.  boonognog (Charlotte, NC, English (U.S.), Jun 9, 2006
"In fact, the word "boo" was the SlangCity.com Slang of the Week back in January 6, 2005...

 ...some people nickname their beloved after things to eat, such as pumpkin, honey, sugar or sweetie pie.

In the 1940s, people used poopsie to address a boyfriend or girlfriend (which most likely comes from the older poppet and not from poop!) The synonym boopsie may be the original source of this week’s word, though its history is uncertain. It might also come from the old-fashioned beau (boyfriend.)"

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Excerpt #5

Pancocojams Editor's Note:  legit.ng is a Nigeria, West African blog

https://www.legit.ng/1151625-meaning-boo-a-relationship.html Meaning of boo in a relationship: its origin and synonyms
…“Boo Meaning

According to multiple slang dictionaries, boo is an affectionate term for referring to your significant other.  Mostly people call their boyfriends and girlfriends boo, especially on social media.  However, sometimes this term can be used for expressing endearment towards your family and close friends.

Where did the word “boo” come from?

The term is supposedly derived from the word beau which means beautiful in French.  The word had a common usage in the 18^th century in England when it meant a male admirer.  Later, when the French colonization of the Caribbean Islands happened, the word made its way into the Afro-Caribbean language*. Recently, the slang word boo gained its popularity in Africa, including Nigeria.

Sometimes, people can use this word for defining a relationship which is not official. For example, you go on dates and do romantic stuff with some boy or girl, but you are not officially dating and instead of calling them boyfriend or girlfriend, the slang term boo can be used.

[…]

The word “boo” is not used in a plural form, so you not say you have a lot of boos.  Originally, the term is supposed to be used only for one person, to indicate how special that person is for you, that is why it is mostly used to refer to the closest people.

Synonyms of “boo”

The most popular slang synonym of “boo” is “bae”**, which basically means the same thing. “Bae” is a term which we use to refer to the most important person in our life, no matter if it is your significant other, crush, lover, or even best friend sometimes.  It stands for before anyone else and is widely used in popular culture.  The slight difference is that the word “boo” is used in real life more often, and the word “bae” is more of a social media term”..

-snip-
* There is no one “Afro-Caribbean language”. I assume that this writer was referring to Jamaican Patois and/or some other Caribbean Patois when they inaccurately used the term “Afro- Caribbean language”.

** Here’s an urbandictionary.com entry for the word “bae”
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bae
"AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) pronunciation of "babe," used as a term of endearment toward loved ones. "Bae" can be a pronoun or an adjective. The term caught fire to mainstream colloquial Standard American English jargon and, due to unfamiliarity with its origins, developed multiple definitions. Trolls and people who dislike its use will often incorrectly juxtapose "bae" with Danish "bæ" which means "poop" (often to shut people up). Others will treat it as an acronym such as "before anyone else." The term is frowned upon by many, as it is seen as ghetto and uncouth, although its origins are simply dialectal.

"My husband is bae!"

 "Whaddup, Bae?"

 "He's my bae; he comes before anyone else!"

 "Stop saying 'bae', it means 'poop!' " "
by nomnom99 February 10, 2017

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michelle-obama-and-her-boo-barack-ring-in-2022-with-a-whole-new-vibe_n_61d1bd13e4b061afe3a806a3 "Michelle Obama And Her 'Boo' Barack Ring In 2022 With A Whole New Vibe" By Cole Delbyck, 01/02/2022 
"May we all enter into 2022 with just a sliver of the energy former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are bringing into the new year.

Looking happy, healthy and sock-less (or did Barack invest in some no-shows?) the couple celebrated New Year’s Eve in style, rocking matching themed 2022 glasses and coordinating all-black ensembles.

With her hand draped over her “boo” Barack, who pulled her in close, Michelle Obama sent her millions of followers well-wishes to close out 2021.

“Happy New Year from me and my boo! Wishing you all a year filled with happiness, love, and good health,” she wrote Saturday evening alongside the photo, which has already racked up over 4 million likes on Instagram.”…
-snip-
Click that link to see the photograph that accompanied this tweet.

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